Metro to begin retiring least reliable 4000-series railcars next week

Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld today
announced that retirement of the system’s least-reliable rail cars – the
4000-series – will begin next week.

The 4000-series rail cars are by far Metro’s least
reliable, traveling an average of only 27,259 miles between delays. By
contrast, the best performing cars, the 6000-series, are nearly four times more
reliable, traveling more than 103,000 miles between delays.

Metro has been in the process of retiring its oldest
railcars, the 1000-series, since February 2016, as new 7000-railcars arrive.
More than half of the 1000-series fleet has been retired to date.

Starting next week, both 1000- and 4000-series cars will
be retired concurrently.

Under the “Back2Good” program, Wiedefeld has committed to
having all 1000- and 4000-series cars out of passenger service by the end of
this year to drive down delays experienced by customers. Railcar
mechanical issues accounted for nearly two-thirds of delays in 2016.

This morning, customers on the Orange, Silver and Blue
lines experienced lengthy delays due to a disabled train with a brake problem outside of Foggy
Bottom Station. The train’s consist included both 1000- and 4000-series
cars.

The first retired 4000-series car is scheduled to be
moved off Metro property on Wednesday, February 15. Retired cars are
transported by trailer to Baltimore where they are scrapped.